"Definitely, I think we were looking forward to this match, obviously with the rivalry that has been created with games like this with teams in your conference. The proximity with their fans coming here and the support we get when we go there adds to it. It was a huge game for us. We had a good performance in the first half and an even better second half. We were the better team, in the second half we created enough chances and we finally scored a nice goal. We defended well as a group. I'm proud of the group and the effort. We enjoy it tonight, then we go back to work and stay focused like we have. The mentality and attitude of the players is fantastic. We enjoy it tonight but it's a long season and things change fast."

On the clean sheet put up by the team's defense

"It was important. You look at the season so far and we have given up early goals, or even the first goal. it's difficult. Even though we have showed that we can come back, especially last year, it gets difficult at times. We talked about the simple things. We didn't say you have to score three goals. Make sure that we defend well. One of the key factors was Higuain in transition, making it really tight and difficult for him to play. With Oduro's pace, with our backline, when to drop off and when to play high and that was the key. He had a couple chances that is going to happen in the game. Sean had to make the saves that he did. We defended well overall. It was good to get the goal late in the game to pull the win. We had a very good start to the second half. We created chances but it was also important to defend well. It was key not to push forward without discipline ."

On outside backs Gonzalo Segares and Wells Thompson creating chances

"We wanted width. With Patrick we wanted to isolate him because of his pace. Anytime we have the ball if we can play to him quick or switch the point of attack where he can get opportunities 1v1. I thought he was fantastic tonight, he created a lot chances. We got in good spots in the final third basically through him in his running off the ball and ability to beat players. On the other side Joel likes to play a bit more tucked in. It is very important with Sega to push up high and provide width for us. If he doesn't we are narrow as a team and it is difficult to play through the middle because they do a good job staying compact and organized. With him on one side and Wells it's important to push forward. When you have two holding midfielders and two guys that are really going to defend, whether it's Jeff and Logan, you can take more risks. We have to be disciplined because they are a very good team. Anytime we lost the ball we needed to put immediate pressure on them, obviously put pressure on Higuain."

On the play of MacDonald

"His fitness level is improving. I thought he was aggressive and made good runs. You saw his pace and acceleration when he had 1-on-1 and his ability to separate himself from defenders. We knew with their backline with Marshall and Glauber was 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, we needed to keep the ball on the ground make sure we run the channels and now it turns into a foot race. Him and Rolfe's ability to combine with the midfielders were things we worked on. It was great off a set piece, Austin made a great play, Jeff made a hard run in the box and we scored. I felt he had a good game regardless if he scored or not, he helped the team.

On Daniel Paladini starting the game on the bench

"I thought Joel played well, he worked hard. I wanted to get Patrick in there because of his pace and his ability to stretch the field with us. Danny has played well. I think he is a guy that when he gets it he helps us with possession. He comes inside more. But I wanted that match up with Patrick on one side. Joel has played well and in Houston. You have to make some decisions, they are not easy. I felt the guys we went with and came in played very well. Throughout the season and the year you got to rely on the team. You can see we have gone through some difficult times. Everybody has been able to step up. Regardless of our record, the attitude and work we put in leaves us with no regrets. Everyone is putting everything think into it and when you have a good mentality you feel things will turn."

Jeff Larentowicz, Chicago Fire Midfielder

On his goal

“It was a long throw, late. I think that Jalil [Anibaba] was putting the ball in the right spot all night and Austin [Berry] was able to get his head on a lot of them. I was in too early on a couple of them and the defenders were able to clear but that one I waited a split second and came in from behind the defender.”

On getting more involved offensively in this match

“I think when the ball was going forward I was trying to get into the box as much as possible. Between Logan and I - we offset each other, where one is up, the other is back. I think I was able to get forward more a little bit tonight.”

On getting his goal in front of Section 8

“It was great. I’m sure there are a lot of people there that I still have to win over and hopefully that’s a good addition to the games I’ve played so far.”

On breaking up the Columbus Crew’s attack

“We were focusing on their offensive engine and making sure they didn’t play into it. Higuain is one of them. I thought we did well to make sure that they weren’t able to get it into him and start their attack. I also think we limited Oduro’s pace in behind. The defenders had a great night, Thompson was fantastic. I think it’s something to build on for sure.”

Patrick Nyarko, Chicago Fire Midfielder

On the match

“It’s a huge win for us, second win at home. I think we had a different purpose today. We needed the win and we played like it. We played with [a little] desperation; we played like we needed the points. It was one of those games that you’re thinking at one point, here we go again, it’s not going to happen again today. But the guys persevered, and kept pushing. It was easily one of the best games that we have played for a little while. We kept the petal to the metal. The [Crew] ‘keeper played unbelievably, and he made great saves. Kudos to the guys – we did not let up. We did not hang our head low, and we kept fighting, and we kept creating. One went in, so that’s all we needed for today. It’s a good effort from the guys.”

On the importance of this win

“After the Houston [loss], we were all disappointed not because we lost the game but because we felt like we did not deserve to lose points out there. We played great, and I kept telling the guys that if we play like this we aren’t going to lose a lot of games. I feel like in the last week of training, we were very optimistic and enthusiastic, and not worried about our loss to Houston. We know we played well enough to earn points there, but it just didn’t happen. That’s soccer. If we put in the same effort today, more than likely we are going to get the win. I think we came out firing in both halves, we sustained the pressure and finally they cracked.”

On if he thinks things are coming together offensively

“Oh yea, definitely. Game after game we get more fit, we get more confident. We have guys that can make a difference. Our season started a little low-it happens over the course of an MLS season, and we are glad it has happened early on, rather than later on. We are starting to figure things out and we know what it takes to win. Our concentration that we have today, if we have that again - we are not going to lose a lot of games. In Houston we just lost our concentration for a second and they punished us. I think we believe if we keep a clean sheet, and we are not playing from behind, we have a great chance to winning our games.”

Logan Pause, Chicago Fire Captain and Midfielder

On today’s strategy

“I think tactically we knew that Higuain’s their engine. Everything goes through him. He was a big priority for us tonight. Between the guys in the back and the midfield, they did a good job at limiting his touches where he is dangerous.”

On improving the playing dynamic between Larentowicz and him

“I think that each and every minute Jeff and I play longer, we’re going to get more familiar with each other. But tonight I think was more of an overall team effort and obviously in the second half we created a lot more chances than in the first half and we were kind of all over them. My work, and Jeff’s work, were we a little bit sharper in there, yea probably, but I think it was a collected team effort.”

On his interaction with MacDonald during his substitution

“At that time we were pushing, and trying to win the game. I wanted to speed up, because every second counts. I understand the frustrations with being subbed off. No doubt; it’s happened to me countless times. It will continue to happen. That’s just because he wants to help the team. It’s nothing more than that. It’s nothing more than us wanting to win and it was left at that. We’ve already talked about that. We laughed about it.”

On whether he felt Columbus eased up in the second half

“You’ll have to ask them in terms of slowing things down. I definitely felt like we were on top of them more in the second half. The possession we had in the second half was in their half, as opposed to in our half. I think that the guys from top to bottom made a fantastic effort to get involved. One of the things we talked about at halftime was being better in the final quarter and making things happen. You have to get some credit to their goalkeeper, he was fantastic tonight. But all around, great team effort tonight.”

Robert Warzycha, Columbus Crew Head Coach

On the match

"I can tell you that they played like the better team. They played much better than us especially in the second half. They created chances, they played to win and they deserved the win."

On his team playing for the win

"One team was better than the other. We tried to win, but you can't win the game giving them so many chances.

On Chicago's rare form in this game compared to the start

“I think if you watch the games, they create a lot of chances. The game against Houston and New York and other games they created chances but were unfortunate not to score. Today they had some chances and then they scored.”

On the disallowed goal

“I didn't see it to be honest, but the ref said it was offsides. I didn't see the replay on it, they didn't show it. I haven't seen the tape. The foul on the other side of the field seemed harsh, but they made the decision to give him a yellow card. Obviously in the first half we didn't have a problem, but in the second half they created too many chances.”

On areas they can improve

"They had a lot of energy. They created a lot of chances they probably could have scored more than one goal. We had a stretch of seven games, five away from home. Being on the road all the time is difficult. We have three games at home, hopefully we can pick up some points. The schedule is very tough for us we lost two games away from home. We had a good result in three of them, we have to take some positives from that."

Dominic Oduro, Columbus Crew Forward

On the loss

"We still lost the game because of how we played. We just have to go back and get to our winning ways. It's been a couple of games on the road that have been tough but we have done really well. We have a couple home games and we have to get ourselves motivated.”

On Chicago's improved defense

"They were under a lot of pressure to win the game. The whole season they have only won one game. It was a lot pressure to win the home game. We knew they were going to come really hard, it was expected. We tried to contain them, but it was unfortunate it was a set piece goal. It's just one of those games you shake your head and move on to the next one."

Josh Williams, Columbus Crew Defender

On his coach saying the better team won

"I wouldn't say they were the better team in the first half. It wasn't on our side, it was even. The second half we got dominated. We couldn't get anything going. It is tough to stomach I don't think we played well at all. There is no excuse for coming out the way we did. I think everyone is frustrated now. We got some home games coming up. We need all the points we can get. We need to win every one.”

On the difference in the first half and second half

"No, we came out flat. We need to find something I don't know what it is. But second half we need to get our act together and come out stronger. Who knows, there has been a couple games like that. There is no excuse for that I don't know what we need to do, but we need to do it fast.”

On matching Chicago's chances before getting scored on

"It was a throw in that Austin Berry flicked on and I don't even know who scored. I think it was Larentowicz. It was a good finish. Andy stood on his head for us the whole half, credit to him. We need to be tighter on our men.”

On the strong performance from Andy Gruenebaum

"Even from last year, I have 100 percent confidence in him and our backline. Even though they were getting chances I didn't think they were going to score. If you keep giving them chances in the box, a guy can't save everything. We need to find a way to control the ball and take pressure off us."

On the week ahead

"It's not the end of the world. This is a tough place to play. We have some games coming up at home. We figure some things out and sort out the possession area. Just keep battling hard and believing in each other."